The Keynote Speakers this year are varied and interesting. On February 28th Steve Rockwood the CEO of FamilySearch International will be speaking. He gave a great talk last year that even included a recipe for his Mum’s fudge.

On March 1st the Keynote Speaker is Brandon Stanton. He created “Humans of New York “and this concept has been used in other cities around the world. I am looking forward to hearing the stories of his adventures.

March 2nd will see Olympic Gold Medalist Figure Skater Scott Hamilton take the stage as Keynote Speaker. He has faced and overcome many challenges in his life and his stories will be inspirational.

Henry Louis Gates Jr. will be a Keynote Speaker this year! He is the host and storyteller of “Finding Your Roots” on PBS. I am looking forward to hearing about his research adventures.

On March 3rd Natalia Lafourcade will be the Keynote Speaker. She is a Mexican pop-rock singer and songwriter. She sang “Remember Me” in the movie Coco released last year.

The Keynote Speakers this year cover wide and varied life experiences. Their stories are sure to motivate and hit an emotional chord with everyone.

There are many lectures and labs to attend during RootsTech and the main problem is not enough time to see and do all you want to accomplish during the conference. I have signed up for one lab and have quite a few other sessions on my agenda. There are some for geographical areas that I am interested in attending as well as trying to learn more about DNA and of course organization and preservation.

They have a stream for Getting Started for those just beginning the family history journey and they will have Family Discovery Day on Saturday where the entire family can come and learn about family history. It is great to see the children excited to learn more about the joys of family history.

On Friday March 2nd they will be hosting an African Heritage Social in the evening. The Guest Speaker will be Regina Mason who was an Executive Producer on the award winning film documentary “Gina’s Journey: The Search for William Grimes.”

Instead of the Innovator’s Showdown this year they will have the Innovation Showcase where a group of “panelists will discuss the past, present and future of the industry.”

On Wednesday morning there will be an Access and Preservation Track sponsored by ProQuest and FamilySearch.

Another new happening this year is that the Expo Hall will open from 6-8 pm on Wednesday night for a sneak peak of what you can expect.

There is an Opening Event called Celebrating the Greatest Generation on Thursday March 1st. “This event will feature vignettes of 1940s era dance, music, and narration to celebrate the greatest generation.”

On Saturday March 3rd there is the Closing Event at the LDS Conference Center on Temple Square called “My Family, Mi Herencia.” This event celebrates the “cultures and stories from Latin America.”

This RootsTech event is offering so much to attendees. There will also be some live streaming of lectures and some of the Keynotes for those who can’t attend in person. You can still decide to come and join us in person. Registration is still open. You can get a discount on the fees until February 12th at 11:59 MST by using the promotional code 18FLASH.

I look forward to catching up with old friends and meeting new friends in Salt Lake City at RootsTech February 28th to March 3rd. See you all there. Have a safe journey everyone!

I’ve been invited to be a RootsTech 2018 Ambassador! It was such an honour to be asked again. It was my first time being an Ambassador last year. I met so many new and interesting people not to mention all the genealogy related products and classes where I learned something new each day.

In 2018 RootsTech is being held from February 28th to March 3rd in the Salt Palace Convention Centre in Salt Lake City, Utah.

RootsTech is a place where global genealogists meet up every year. There are people coming from Australia, the United Kingdom, Canada, Belgium, Israel and other countries from around the world. We will spend almost a full week chatting about family history, sharing stories, learning about new records and technologies to help us on our ancestral trek. Sometimes you may even find a cousin or two.

You didn’t think I would forget to mention that Salt Lake City is the place for all those who research their family history. You will have access to the Family History Library and all the records the library contains. You won’t have to worry if it isn’t digitized yet as you will have access to microfilms. If you have been looking at something that has the icon indicating that you have to be at a Family History Centre computer to view then you will have no problem. Most of my research is done on Basement Level 2. This is the British, Irish and Australian section. There have always been available microfilm readers, computers and lots of help to aid you in your discoveries.

If you have never been to RootsTech then please give it serious consideration. Christmas is coming maybe Santa would give you a gift to remember. If you can’t make it don’t worry because there will be live streaming keynotes and lectures every day. There is a group called #NotatRootsTech and they are just as enthusiastic as those of us in attendance. I have been part of that group and you can almost feel like you are there in person.

RootsTech is a bucket list trip for many genealogists. It is a time when we can find like people who won’t glaze over when we start talking family history. You would think family would find their own history interesting but then many of you are very familiar with that glazed expression they get when we start talking about it.